Fed's historic takedown reveals widespread network of Mexican cartel 'scouts' in U.S.

Federal prosecutors have wrapped up what appears to be the largest takedown in history of smuggling cartel scouts, winning prison sentences for 18 people who were involved in an intricate scheme to spy on Border Patrol movements and help the Sinaloa Cartel sneak drugs into the U.S. without being detected. The Mexican scouts camped on five mountaintops along a line that ran more than 60 miles into U.S. soil, marking a stunning level of penetration by the cartels, who were able to track Border Patrol movements all the way from the border to the interstate just south of Phoenix. Scouts would stay in situ for months at a time, armed with binoculars and solar charging equipment to replenish batteries for the encrypted radios and cellphones they used to alert their masters back in Mexico — and sometimes directly to the drug backpackers themselves — giving the all-clear or warning to lie low if Border Patrol agents were nearby. They were assisted by a thorough resupply network that would hike water, food and other necessities into the remote mountain locations. It took a monthslong investigation, including a sting operation in which undercover agents posed as resuppliers for the scouts, and the legal case dragged on for two years after the December 2017 arrests...MORE